[H]ealth officials in Vermont are in touch with their counterparts in Florida, where an outbreak of hepatitis A is ongoing, following the sudden death last week of a Franklin county school superintendent.
Ned Kirsch, the superintendent in the Franklin West Supervisory Union, died unexpectedly Wednesday, just days after returning from a trip to the Sunshine State, where his brother and sister-in-law, Jeffrey and and Nancy Kirsch, died in late March following complications from hepatitis A, according to health officials.
“We are working with health officials from Vermont to determine if there is a link between the tragic death of this gentleman and hepatitis A in Florida,” state epidemiologist Carina Blackmore said in a statement released Friday by the Florida Department of Health in Martin County. There have been 19 cases of the virus confirmed in Martin County, including three deaths.
The Vermont medical examiner is investigating Ned Kirsch’s death and test results are pending.
“At this point we’re not concerned about an ongoing public health threat related to hepatitis A,” said Vermont Health Department spokesperson Ben Truman.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus. People who are infected will not necessarily exhibit symptoms. If symptoms do develop, they do so two to six weeks after infection, and can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, stomach pains, diarrhea and jaundice. Hepatitis A is vaccine-preventable, and hand-washing can help prevent its spread.
The disease is typically not fatal, but persons with chronic illnesses, compromised immune systems and senior citizens are more likely to experience severe symptoms, leading to liver failure and possible death, according to health officials.
Hepatitis A is relatively rare in Vermont, with only a handful of cases reported each year. There were two cases reported in 2014, three in 2015, five in 2016, two in 2017 and three in 2018, according to the Department of Health.
Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French called Kirsch, 53, a “friend and a colleague whose work I respected a great deal,” in a statement released Friday.
“His death is a huge loss for the Vermont education community. He was a major thought leader on technology use in schools, personalizing student learning and international education. He was an inspiring and innovative leader,” French said.
